This invention relates in general to eye disorders and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for using a reflected light to detect eye disorders.
Many types of eye disorders can be diagnosed by reflecting light off of portions of an individual's eyes and observing the pattern of the reflected light. One of these diagnostic tests is known as the Brueckner test and utilizes an ophthalmoscope to compare the red reflexes of both eyes. When both eyes simultaneously fixate and focus on the ophthalmoscope light source, both pupils constrict, the corneal light reflexes become centered and both red reflexes become quite dark. A difference in the brightness of the two reflexes indicates binocular asymmetry, which may mean that the individual has either strabismus or anisometropia.
To accurately diagnose eye problems using the Brueckner test, an eye specialist must focus the light source upon the eyes of the patient for a period of time to allow the eyes of the patient to fixate and focus. However, this type of examination of young children and other noncompliant individuals can be extremely difficult because of the need for the individual to remain still and focused on the light source or other desired object. The difficulty in examining young children is particularly problematic because early detection of certain types of visual defects is important in order to allow corrective measures to be undertaken before permanent or more serious disorders result.
Eye specialists are trained to recognize when the patient's eyes are properly fixated and focused on the light source during eye examinations, and at that point the eye specialist can diagnose any problems that may be visualized by the reaction of the eyes to the light. General medical practitioners, however, typically lack sufficient training to diagnose eye problems using Brueckner and Hirschberg reflex tests which implement a light source to stimulate the eye. The inability of many general practitioners to diagnose eye disorders greatly reduces the opportunity to fully screen patients during general medical checkups. Accordingly, it would be desirable to allow a patient to visit one doctor to obtain a complete checkup, instead of making separate visits to an eye specialist for diagnosis of potential eye problems.
Prior attempts have been made at using photographic equipment to capture an eye testing session on still photographs. However, such a prior art method of diagnosing special eye problems has proved ineffective in many instances because the photographs must be taken when a patient's eyes have constricted so that an accurate Brueckner and Hirschberg analysis can be performed. The camera operator, even with extensive training, may fail to capture the essential time segment when the eyes of the patient are properly constricted, particularly when the patient is a young child or noncompliant individual. The resulting photograph may thus fail to yield the necessary visual data to perform Brueckner and Hirschberg reflex tests and may cause misdiagnoses because the eye specialist is unable to determine from the photograph whether the patient's eyes were properly focused on the camera or other intended object.